Incyte's skin disease drug shows long-term symptom relief in late-stage trials

March 28 (Reuters) - Incyte INCY.O said on Saturday its experimental skin disease drug showed long-term reduction of symptoms in two late-stage trials.

The company tested the drug, povorcitinib, in patients with moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa, a chronic skin disease that causes painful lumps, abscesses and scarring, usually in areas where skin rubs together like the armpits or groin.

The new data, presented at a medical meeting, showed that after 54 weeks of treatment, up to 71.4% of patients taking the drug achieved at least 50% reduction in abscesses and inflamed skin bumps in the trials.

The studies also showed that up to 57% of patients achieved major symptom reduction and up to 29% achieved complete clearance of key skin lesions.

Povorcitinib is a once-daily pill that works by blocking JAK1, a protein involved in the inflammation that leads to painful abscesses and nodules.

Treatment options for the condition are limited and are mainly injectable drugs.

There are currently three FDA-approved treatments for the condition: AbbVie's ABBV.N Humira, Novartis' NOVN.S Cosentyx and UCB's UCB.BR Bimzelx.

The most frequent side effects were acne, nasopharyngitis and upper respiratory tract infections, Incyte said.

Hidradenitis suppurativa affects about 1% to 4% of people in the United States and has a higher impact on people from racial and ethnic minority groups, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Incyte said applications seeking approval of povorcitinib are currently under review by the FDA and the European Medicines Agency.